Through An All Ladies Run Club, Irina Hazarika Barua Inspires Women To Take Up Running In The North-East

 New Delhi: A regular runner since 2015, Irina Hazarika Barua doesn't want to just run for herself, but she wants to motivate as many women as possible to run along with her. Barua, a native of Guwahati, rose to fame when she ran from Tezpur to Guwahati (160 km) as a part of the 'Spirit of Pinkathon' event in 2019. Thereafter, she was approached by many women who also wanted to start running and therefore she started an All Ladies Run Club.

"I had carried out a run from Tezpur to Guwahati as a part of the 'Spirit of Pinkathon' event in 2019 and after that, a lot of women came to know about me after my run was covered by the media. They approached me and told me that even they want to start running, so that's how we started the  All Ladies Run Club  'Jayanti ki Toli' last year. Now, we mostly have new members through word of mouth," said Barua.

The 52-year-old added that the Run Club hasn't been able to meet regularly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, they try to run together once a month. "There are many women who run in Assam, but there are a lot of women who don't run. I have been running since 2015 and I want to motivate the other women to take up running. We haven't been able to meet and run together due to the pandemic. We try to run together once a month. But, otherwise, we have a WhatsApp group in which we share the daily activities and everyone follows it. We have women from Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya in our group as well. The group has been mainly formed for the women in the northeast region," said Barua.

When asked about what prompted her to join the Sunfeast India Move As One, Barua expressed, "I try to not miss any of the Procam International events. I had taken part in last year's Sunfeast India Run As One as well. It's very good that Procam International is looking to help the children who have been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. I have pledged 150 km for the event. Through my run in the Sunfeast India Move As One movement, I will also positively impact a child's future in my own way."

Barua added that she has motivated her Run Club, which is a group of around 80 women, to take part in the Sunfeast India Move As One as well, "I have always tried to inspire our Run Club members to take part in Procam events and I have asked them to join the Sunfeast India Move As One as well. Many of them took part in the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (held remotely) last year."

At INR 149, this first-of-its-kind citizen-led Sunfeast India Move As One movement encourages participants to run, walk, jog, cycle, use a wheelchair, treadmill, or stationary bike. INR 50 from every registration will go directly towards NGOs supporting children causes empaneled with GiveIndia for Sunfeast India Move As One.

Registrations for the Sunfeast India Move As One began on 28th July and will continue till 13th Sep 2021. The movement commenced on 15th Aug 2021 and will continue till 15th Sep 2021. Participants will have the opportunity to fundraise until 30th Sep 2021.